FLORIDA LOOKOUTS
GOWER'S CORNER
Pasco County
February 8, 1986: "Dana Stoddard's office is 120 feet in the sky, and stands like a sentinel in the middle of Pasco County.
From his perch in the Gower's Corner fire tower, Stoddard scouts the surrounding countryside, looking for any sign of a spark. But though his job is to look for fire, Stoddard sees a lot more.
He looks down on acres of woods, lakes and swamps, and on a clear day, he can see downtown Tampa, even though the city is 25 miles away.
The tower has been part of Stoddard's life for the past five tears. As a fire tower lookout for the Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry, he's seen his native Pasco County grow up around him.
First in the tower near Saint Leo College, and now in this tower on State Road 52 just west of U.S. 41, Stoddard has kept a watchful eye on the county.
Each day during the fire season, usually from late December until the rains come in June, Stoddard is in the tower, scouting the area and looking for brush fires.
'I like to think I've played a part in saving these woods,' said the 36-year-old Dade City resident. 'That's real important here, especially with the development and all, because we need to save as much of the wilderness as we can.'
Ironically, as much as Stoddard enjoys his work, high high-in-the-sky job, he'll come down to earth on Monday.
His part-time job as fire tower lookout has been taken away, a victim of budget cuts in the state forestry division.
'Well, they've got to save money,' said Stoddard, who will be replaced in the tower by one of the forest rangers at Gower's Corner post." (St. Petersburg Times)
From his perch in the Gower's Corner fire tower, Stoddard scouts the surrounding countryside, looking for any sign of a spark. But though his job is to look for fire, Stoddard sees a lot more.
He looks down on acres of woods, lakes and swamps, and on a clear day, he can see downtown Tampa, even though the city is 25 miles away.
The tower has been part of Stoddard's life for the past five tears. As a fire tower lookout for the Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry, he's seen his native Pasco County grow up around him.
First in the tower near Saint Leo College, and now in this tower on State Road 52 just west of U.S. 41, Stoddard has kept a watchful eye on the county.
Each day during the fire season, usually from late December until the rains come in June, Stoddard is in the tower, scouting the area and looking for brush fires.
'I like to think I've played a part in saving these woods,' said the 36-year-old Dade City resident. 'That's real important here, especially with the development and all, because we need to save as much of the wilderness as we can.'
Ironically, as much as Stoddard enjoys his work, high high-in-the-sky job, he'll come down to earth on Monday.
His part-time job as fire tower lookout has been taken away, a victim of budget cuts in the state forestry division.
'Well, they've got to save money,' said Stoddard, who will be replaced in the tower by one of the forest rangers at Gower's Corner post." (St. Petersburg Times)